Cherokee County driver in fatal crash gets probation

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- A judge has given a 21-year-old woman probation in connection with the alcohol-related death of a fellow Northeastern State University student.<br/><br/>But District Judge Bruce

Friday, January 6th 2006, 6:21 am

By: News On 6

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. (AP) -- A judge has given a 21-year-old woman probation in connection with the alcohol-related death of a fellow Northeastern State University student.

But District Judge Bruce Sewell told Trisha Danae Catron that the five-year deferred sentence she received was her last chance. Sewell says he'll send Catron to prison for as much as 30 years if she slips up while on probation.

Catron pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the July 2003 death of Andrea Beth Doyle. Catron's blood-alcohol level reportedly was 0.22 -- nearly three times the legal limit -- when her car collided with Doyle's.

Cherokee County prosecutors tried Catron three times, ending in two mistrials and a deadlocked jury, before agreeing to a plea deal.